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by sansevieria10



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Ending, DLFiscancelled, F/M, Gen, Happy Ending, Post-TRoS, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Fix-It, anyway, maybenewbeginning, newfaces, reyloisendgame, theyKISSEDyourhonor, whoknows
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:34:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24191401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sansevieria10/pseuds/sansevieria10
Summary: There was peace. There was life.“We are what they grow beyond…”Rey channels all waves of the Force within her.She is balanced in a meditative state.All the sounds of life forms in the forest surround her. She takes it all in with contentment.There is a shift. A presence that considers her own. Rey smiles, but keeps her eyes shut in focus.She hears a rustle in the bushes nearby.He’s breathing too hard, she notes.Just as she was about to turn, the figure jumps out with a start.
Relationships: Finn/Rose Tico, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





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**Author's Note:**

> A Post-TROS AU in which the dual protagonists begin their new journey. Also a possible precursor of various one-shots following this one. No promises though. This is my first publishing ever. 
> 
> Oh yeah, this was written before TROS even premiered, yet I stand by this ending.

The war was over. They could finally breathe. Or one could only take his last breath. Rey whirls around and runs toward his wounded figure. He’s critically injured with a fresh scar running down his left side. A bacta tank wouldn’t be enough for his condition; it was only a matter of time. Rey kneels to his level and lifts Ben’s head for support.

“We won. It’s all over,” her voice a faint whisper.

He struggles to get a word out, any word. His breath becomes shallower by the second.

“Ben, stay with me. We must get you to a med-ward.”

She tries to carry him, but he moans in resistance. Not wanting to cause any more pain or injury, she settles him back to the ground, fearful of their destinies. He can’t leave. Not yet. Not when he doesn’t know.

She could use the force to lift him, but something held her back from doing so. In his mind, there is resolve. He had finished what his grandfather started. And that was enough for him…and for the galaxy. Rey’s tears began to burn her eyes as they fell down her cheeks. Her whole body began to tremble in loss of hope.

“Ben?” she pushes. “Please…”

He lifts his weary eyes toward her, and her stomach drops at the sight of them. There is still fear and sorrow, but a glint of hope is present. Rey tries to remain composed, but she is very close to breaking.

There is not enough strength for words to carry themselves from his tongue, so instead, he weakly brings out a golden possession that steals her attention. Rey gasps at the sight of it. The dice. Han’s dice. The ones retrieved from a fateful bet for the millennium falcon. There was a smear of blood on one of them, but she did not care. She carefully took the dice in her hand and looked at Ben. He knew. His eyes said everything. They were hopeful for the future. _Their_ future.

Rey’s lips curled up into a reluctant smile as more tears streamed down her face. Her fear now melting into acceptance. She glances at the dice one more time and quickly back to Ben. But he wasn’t there anymore. At least the life in his eyes weren’t.

* * *

Bringing out the dice brought back a wave of memories for Ben. He felt all the happiness, joy, hope, pain, and sorrow those dice held. Such a small possession that held a significant weight to his upbringing and potentially the future. Less did his own father know that they would mean something.

Ben sees Rey, but within a fraction of a second, he blinks, and he is brought back to a memory. Ben takes in his surroundings. He is on the millennium falcon, his father’s beloved ship.

There is giggling in the cockpit, an innocent child’s laughter fills the hall he is in. Ben slowly makes his way toward the noise and is shocked to see his little self in the lap of Han Solo. They’re both sitting in the captain chair. Little Ben is carrying the dice his father handed him, making all kinds of excited chirps. He stares out at the space in awe, then claiming a future he had not foreseen at the time.

“Dad, one day, I want to be a pilot like you! I’ll be the best pilot in the galaxy!” little Ben turns and smiles. Han smirks and lifts his son up in the air. Little Ben lets out a surprised giggle.

Ben’s heart is shattered. He wishes he could go back and change everything that had occurred in his life shortly after that moment. His knees start to feel weak at the sight of Han’s joy.

“Someday you will, kid. You’re our starfighter. You’ll own this galaxy like nobody’s business,” Han says with pride and hope.

It takes everything that’s left in Ben’s strength not to turn away. But a faint voice makes him do it anyway.

“Ben.”

He _knew_ that voice. It was one he had not heard in a very long time. He turns as the memory fades away and sees a vast field in the great beyond. His mother is at the other end. His eyes grow wide. There is hope. He gets to confront his mother and tell her everything he’s been meaning to say, but never got the chance to. His feet carry him faster than he thought they could. He runs across the field, toward his mother who is bathed in white with a sun shining behind her. She was so bright; it could blind anyone. But not in this realm. Not in the afterlife.

He’s panting by the time he reaches her. Leia beams in happiness…and pride. Pride? He had not expected her to ever be proud of him. Why now? He looks down at himself and realizes he is all in white too. But that didn’t matter. He needed to tell her.

But the words would not come. No matter how hard he tried, his mouth could not open. In frustration, he lets out a strangled cry as he falls to his knees in front of her. She puts her hands in his hair and comforts him. Her voice startles him, but he listens carefully.

“I know your trials have led you to a path of destruction, Ben. I could never stop you from it. Neither could your father or uncle.”

More tears run down his cheeks. He puts his arms around her for support.

“But your actions have said enough. You must know how proud I am of you,” her voice is tender with unconditional love. He shudders at the words.

Ben looks up at her with teary eyes and finally lifts himself up. Her smile grows, and in her eyes, there is love. He wants to cry all over again, but he still needs to tell her.

“Mother, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for all the pain and suffering I brought to you. To our family. To the entire galaxy. I know what my fate must be. And I’m willing to pay for my debt.”

His tone is resolved, but his expression falters into one of despair. Leia’s smile wavers, yet her eyes still hold the same love.

“Ben. Look at me,” she urges. He does and he sees a fierce determination in her eyes that he had never seen.

“There is still a chance to make things right. You did your part in the war. Now it is time to pass on to you what we know.”

Ben is confused at her last statement. His previous life is finished. There is no going back. This is now the life he must endure, trapped in this realm without the one he cares for most. The eyes that regard him are set with resolution, and he dares himself to hope.

Leia continues, “The galaxy still needs you, Ben. Your time has not come yet. Luke and I will always be here to guide you. You’ll never be alone. Remember that.”

He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. How was it all possible? Why did he become one with the Force if he’s not meant to be here?

There are faint echoes of laughter, innocent laughter. He turns his face to see where it came from. Then his expression changes to wonder. Two small children running beside each other and laughing across the field behind Leia. He sees a small portal that opens to the other side, and he knows that they are making their way into a world. Soon. He could not make out their faces or features, but he knew there was something important about those children. He could sense it in the Force.

Leia interrupts his reverie and looks at him with hope. “She still needs you. You can remain here or return. The choice is yours.”

And with that, she disappears from his view.

Ben is unsure of himself. What good would it do to return? He would be executed and sent back to this realm. With better odds, he would be exiled to an uncharted corner of the galaxy. He would serve no purpose with the Resistance or with any new order. His destiny had already been fulfilled, but his mother says otherwise. The innocent laughter catches his attention again. He sees the small figures reaching closer to the portal.

Ben looks onto the horizon and settles with his decision.

* * *

He’ll never come back. This was his destiny and it had been fulfilled. It had to be enough. But it just wasn’t enough for her.

Rey slowly puts his head down on the cold stone and kisses his hair. A lone tear of hers drops to his rigid face.

“I love you,” she whispers.

There is no answer. Not even the Force seemed present within her. Her strength has waned and all of life has left.

Rey stands, sparing one last look at Ben’s face. She tears her gaze from him with a sharp turn and hurries out of the decimated temple. Her feet carry her to the edge of a cliff that holds the temple. The night is cold and harsh against her bare skin. Her wounds and scars sting from the howling breeze. The dark clouds settle throughout the sky. The air moans in despair for the fallen ones. The war was over, but there is so much loss. So much bloodshed. How is one to recover from such atrocities?

The last jedi had been alone for many years on Jakku. She had felt alone when training with Luke Skywalker. She felt alone fighting beside the resistance. But she had never felt alone with Ben’s presence. Now with him gone, she was truly and utterly alone. And she would have to fend for herself and her future from now on. She looks down at the dice in her hand. They hold so much significance for the future. Her gaze shifts to the horizon and she is filled with a resolve she had not felt in any time of her life.

* * *

There was peace. There was life.

_“We are what they grow beyond…”_

Rey channels all waves of the Force within her.

She is balanced in a meditative state.

All the sounds of life forms in the forest surround her. She takes it all in with contentment.

There is a shift. A presence that considers her own. Rey smiles, but keeps her eyes shut in focus.

She hears a rustle in the bushes nearby. He’s breathing too hard, she notes. Just as she was about to turn, the figure jumps out with a start.

There is a flurry of energy with their lightsabers as they clash with every spar. White collides with blue, sending sparks in the others’ direction. The fierce gaze is apparent in his eyes as he struggles to focus and keep up with her swift, steady moves. Rey was fully trained with Luke’s and Leia’s guidance throughout the last several years. Now, she was able to pass on what she knew. For the future.

Just as he was about to direct his blow to her abdomen, she quickly sparred and with a flick of the force, threw the blue lightsaber off to the side as it extinguished. He had no choice but to yield. Again. Rey smirked in triumph, but she also knew that his abilities should not be underestimated. More importantly, he needs to learn how to channel that balance when he trains.

“Tarek, be sure to widen your stance when in position. And search your feelings when you’re engaged. The Force does not bend to your will, you must allow yourself to bend to it and it will guide your movements,” Rey instructs.

“Yes, master.”

Rey smiled. Tarek was the boy she found and saved from the horrendous cells in Canto Bight. He was frightened when he first saw her, but grateful once he was off planet. It took him over a year to finally warm up to her and let her take him under her wing. Rey had wanted to start a new order. Not particularly of Jedi, but of force-sensitives that could find balance between the light and dark. He was only eight at the time, but now before her stands a fourteen-year-old boy who was eager to train and become a knight one day. Rey could only hope for what seemed certain in the future. All her padawans have grown quickly, including her own.

She ponders even more as they make their way to the temple. There, she finds peace and serenity. A balance that was once a shimmer in the galaxy is now omnipresent. The universe is restored to its form.

~

Back in her humble abode not far off from the temple, Rey settles in to prepare a meal for midday. In one corner of the kitchen hangs half the dice that Han Solo had won. Rey stares at it for a moment with hope. Hope that one day he will return. The son of Han Solo. Not wanting to linger on the thought, she turns her attention back to the kettle.

“He didn’t keep his part of the bargain, it seems.”

Rey quickly turned with a gasp, only to be relieved at the sight of her former master – Luke Skywalker.

He wears a mischievous smile at her expense.

“Which part?” she asks.

“To return home, of course,” he states the obvious.

Rey sighs and turns away. Deep down, she hated not having his presence. Luke senses this and decides to change the subject.

“I see that Jaina has taken up your combat style,” he notes with a grin.

This time, Rey smiles at the comment. “She is a warrior at heart. Sometimes, I worry that she may get carried away with her love for combat.”

Luke’s tone becomes more serious. “She needs to be taught. As does her brother.”

Turning back to the former Jedi, Rey argues, “They are not old enough. Not yet. Their strength is growing, but they must attain knowledge of the Force before training.”

Luke smiles again, remembering the first lesson he had with Rey, and how her strength had frightened him. He knows that Jaina’s brother is more sensitive to the Force but lacks any concept of what it truly is. Jaina seems to have gotten a grasp of it on her own, mostly because she was so keen on learning her surroundings. Her twin, however…

“The boy needs to be trained, Rey. You can’t prolong it. He’s beginning to realize his power and will harness it in any way he needs to. With or without training. It’s important that he learns to control his emotions and the energy within him.”

Exhausted with this conversation, Rey voices her burning concern that she has had for the past five years, “What if I can’t help him? What if he goes down that dark path? Each day, I sense their strength building. Jaina is secure, but Jon…”

Rey can’t finish her sentence. Luke looks at her with understanding.

A couple moments pass as Rey’s thoughts drift off into many questions for the future.

Luke finally breaks the silence and leans in, “He may be like his father, but he is strong. Not only in the Force, but in heart. Search your feelings, Rey. You know that what had happened in the past, will stay in the past.”

With that, Luke disappeared. C-3PO then entered and offered a message to Rey.

Miss Rey, we received a message that the leaders have made their entrance in Takodana.”

Excitement filled within her as she makes her way to the temple to gather her students. She calls out for her young padawans, hoping they weren’t meddling with the energy surrounding them.

~

Running out of breath, he picks up his little rod and spars again. The moves aren’t easy. He doesn’t know how his mother does it. Her movements are so fluid and skilled. Even though he was only five, he moans in frustration when he hits the rock in an uncontrolled move, and the rod breaks.

Jon sighs and gives up for the moment, until there is a sound. A sort of hushed whisper in the air, calling for him. At first, he is confused. It sounds like his mother, but different. There is something else. Curious, he makes his way on the path he chose to enter the forest. But then there’s another voice calling to him. It was masculine. Jon turns back and is conflicted. Should he answer his mother’s call, or can she wait? Hearing the mysterious voice echo again, he decides to follow it.

The sun beams through the green canopy, encouraging Jon to go further. There was no harm here.

As he nears the voice, he stands at the edge of a quiet river. Though it would be hard to tell, Jon noticed it right away. There was a ship hidden in the river. It looked old, layered with green algae and leaves. It was certainly smaller than his father’s ship, but it still intrigued him. Jon inherited a love for all ships and fighters. He hoped to become a pilot someday, like his father.

He realized that the voice had stopped, and Jon felt a sudden urge to explore. But the river seemed too deep to simply walk across. He could swim, but his mother would scold him for getting muddy again. Just as he was about to walk away, the voice called out again. This time, it encouraged him to do something he had never done before.

_“Lift the object.”_

Jon had lifted pebbles and his stuffed furry when he was four, but he had never lifted something heavy. It seemed impossible, especially for one his size. With a determination to make himself proud, he lifted his hand toward the ship. He tries to focus on the energy within him, but it’s not working. Confused, he lifts his hand higher and closes his eyes. Again, there is nothing. No movement. He recalls a memory he had with his father and clings onto it.

_Jon is upset. He couldn’t grasp the same energy his sister could, and with that, he stormed to his bed. His father enters the room and regards him with a tender smile. Papa could always make his day better. “Jon, you need to learn the ways of the Force,” his father said. The boy perks up and listens intently. “Close your eyes and reach out with your mind.” Although he was heavily confused, Jon does as he is told. And somehow, it works. He opens his eyes and finds his stuffed furry suspended in the air._

Remembering what his father had said, Jon reaches out. There is a balance within. He can feel it. The energy around him has never been more vibrant. The waters begin to ripple as the ship slowly ascends from the surface. Jon reaches out further. He hears the water splash against the ship until finally…he opens his eyes.

He had done it. The ship was in the air, recovered from its watery grave. A smile breaks across his face. He couldn’t wait to tell Mama and Papa. Still in awe with the ship, Jon steps forward and accidentally dips into the water. It was shallow enough for him, but he looked down in fear. The reflection of himself slowly turns into a different figure. As he leans closer to the reflection, he realizes it’s his father staring back at him.

_“Jon.”_

The boy quickly turns around, afraid that his mother had caught him in the act. He hears her voice and realizes it’s more urgent now. Looking back at the reflection, it appeared to take his shape again. Not wanting to delve into it, Jon lets the ship down into the waters and runs to his mother.

~

Rey is relieved to finally see her children make way to the crowds gathered for their leaders. Jaina reaches her first, but her twin is not too far behind. Rey picks up both of them with a joyous smile. _Finally_ , she thought. She missed him. The twins of course, always asked for their father, but she was sure that she thought of him the most. Even though they could contact each other lightyears away, it would never be enough until he was home. He was never away very often, only if it was necessary to restore peace in outer rim planets or propose negotiations with a different order. Rey couldn’t be more proud.

Finn and Rose excitedly greet Rey with their daughter, Hanna. She was only three, but the twins loved playing with her. They taught her all kinds of words and little tricks, which made parenting more difficult yet easy for the young couple. That wouldn’t change a thing, though. Everything was perfect the way it was.

There is a loud roar in the air over the trees, and everyone looks up. The millennium falcon descends onto its platform and everyone cheers once the boarding ramp extends. Poe and Chewbacca step out first with victorious expressions. BB-8 rolls right behind them with happy beeps. The twins twist from Rey’s grasp and run toward the tall wookie.

“Uncle Chewie!” they both shout.

Chewbacca roars happily as he captures the children in his arms. Rey holds her breath, waiting for her loved one to appear. Fortunately, she didn’t have to wait much longer. He steps out into the bright hues of the forest and the cheers grow louder.

“Papa!” the twins scream in unison and run toward him.

Ben Solo reaches down with a gentle smile and catches them. Rey beams. The very sight of her husband being loved by his own children, was enough to make her heart burst. He looked up at her and his smile grew wider as she approached him.

“It took you long enough,” she reproached with a smirk.

“I’ll try to make it up to you sweetheart, I promise,” he winks. It makes her heart soar.

“No, do or do not. There is no try,” she recalls the words of a former master she also learned from.

Ben smiles and carries their children as they make their way through the crowd.

He was finally home.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Kudos and comments are appreciated, of course. :) 
> 
> MTFBWY


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